Union to lobby RUH meeting over 'pay cartel'

Union members will be lobbying Royal United Hospital board members over what they have dubbed a regional pay cartel today.

The RUH is among 19 hospitals and health trusts which have paid £10,000 to be part of the South West Pay Terms and Conditions Consortium, which will look at pay, overtime, holidays, incentives and working hours.

Members are angry at suggestions that this may lead to an erosion of pay, holidays and sickness pay and will be voicing concerns at the RUH NHS Trust’s annual general meeting tonight.

The consortium has been set up to look at solutions to the financial problems facing the NHS, and the RUH has stressed nothing will be done without full consultation with its workforce.

Today’s lobby is part of a regional programme of protests and Unison South West regional secretary Joanna Kaye said: “Our members are lobbying these trust boards now because the future of the NHS in the South West is in their hands.

“We need to ensure that trust boards members are aware of the risks they are taking with the health service.

“Cutting pay, destroying morale, and forcing nurses, midwives, doctors and other healthcare workers to leave the area or find other jobs will harm patient care and undermine the trust's performance in every way.

“We know that many trusts have only joined this cartel because they are worried about the opinion of their counterparts in other trusts.

“We are asking them to recognise the true value of their staff and the services they provide and to remember that their duty is to their local people, communities and businesses by voting to pull out of the cartel immediately.”

During the next week 20 lobbies of AGMs and trust board meetings will be taking place across the region.

Comments

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